LECITHIN: CHOLESTEROL ACYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVITY IS DECREASED IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Abstract

Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) plays a major role in the removal of free cholesterol from tissues via assisting HDL-C maturation, and its activity has been proposed as the main indicator of HDL-C function. The aim of the study was to measure LCAT activity in type 2 diabetic patients and to elucidate whether LCAT is associated with metabolic control, and insulin resistance. A case-control study was conducted in Imam Khomeini Hospital during 2006, recruiting 45 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 45 healthy subjects. Cases and controls were matched regarding gender, age and body mass index (BMI). FBS, lipid profile, LCAT activity, HbA1C, insulin were measured and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)was calculated for both patients and controls. The studied variables were then compared between the two groups, and the association of LCAT activity with any of the variables was examined. Twenty-five subjects were female and 20 male both among patients and controls. Mean age of diabetics was 49.9 yrs (range, 40-64), and of controls 51.1 yrs (range, 39-64). FBS, HbA1C, HOMA-IR and TG in patients were significantly higher than controls, and HDL-C in controls was significantly higher than patients. LCAT activity of patients (73 9.1 µmol/L/h) was significantly lower than that in controls (88 4.5 µmol/L/h) (p<0.001). LCAT activity had significant inverse correlations with HbA1C and duration of diabetes. After multilinear regression analysis in patients, LCAT activity was only correlated with HbA1C level (ß= -0.9, p<0.001). LCAT activity had no significant association with HDL-C and HOMA-IR in any of the groups.
LCAT activity is significantly decreased in patients with type 2 diabetes compared with healthy controls, and has an inverse correlation with the magnitude of hyperglycemia.